men who breastfeed?!

[elportodelgato]

Right ladies, I know someone will have a view on this.

DH and I have a kind of running joke about how this time around (2nd DC) my life will be so much easier because he will have learned how to breastfeed and can take on some of the work

Then I read something in the paper earlier in the year, basically saying 'any nipple will lactate if stimluated enough' although with the caveat that by the time this happened with a man, the baby would have starved. This got me thinking about 'well, couldn't the nipple be stimulated in advance to ensure that milk would be there when the baby arrived' and a quick google search found this interesting / disturbing site: www.unassistedchildbirth.com/miscarticles/milkmen.html

I am not seriously suggesting that I hook my DH up to the electric breastpump every night for the next 5 months (tempting though that is), but has anyone come across this actually happening? I am now strangely intrigued...

there is a guy in india who breastfed his baby when his wife died

well, if he wishes to grow boobies then ...

It would be lovely but I really don't think it's possible as men lack the hormones needed to be stimulated to lactate and the necessary milk glands and nodules so while I often dreamt of this in the early days of BFing I think it will remain a dream unless of course they are able to transplant breast tissue into a man and give him artificial hormone injections?

It is possible but their nipples need vastly more stimulation than ours. All of the equipment is there however, it is just dormant.

I would assume that a boost of prolactin would be helpful as well.

How do people think men get breast cancer? Some men have milk producing tissue behind the nipple but some don't.

I read an article about the phenomenon a while ago and can't find it again but it stated that a certain percentage of men have breast tissue that could lactate given the right stimulation (i.e. suckling or a raise in prolactin levels) due to a gene. Very vague and woolly I know but I can't find the article again - pah my googling skills are rubbish!

Yes I have heard something about this (think it was the guy in India). ALso Grandmothers etc re lactating so they can look after grandbabies... hope I didn't dream it.

www.thethinkingblog.com/2007/08/fact-men-can-breastfeed.html

There is a clip of a short film about male breastfeeding!

When DD was born my FIL told us that one of his male friends had confided in him that he was so emotional at the time of his PFB's birth that he was leaking milk.

Obviously FIL would not say who it was but I don't think he made it up.

I seem to remember being taught at school that there is a tribe in Papua New Guinea in which the men do the breastfeeding.

Hmmmm... DH has a fine pair of man boobs. That could be quite useful if he could help bf theoretical dc2. Maybe I should see if DS could test them out for me...

Seriously it is a fascinating concept. I knew the drugs used to treat prostate cancer can cause men to lactate.